Matthew 13:44

The Hidden Treasure

I. There are four things that need to be understood in order to understand

the parable. The Kingdom of heaven; the treasure; the field; the man.

A. The kingdom of heaven is where God reigns.

1. We realize that the universe is divided into two

opposing forces that could be described as the kingdom

of darkness and the kingdom of light.

a. Satan reigns in the kingdom of darkness.

b. God reigns in the kingdom of light.

2. These powers are mutually exclusive, and in constant

conflict with each other. It is a battle of good

against evil.

3. The battle is over the control of man who was created

by God and was endowed by God with the power of choice.

4.

You are in the heat of the battle, it rages around

you. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but

against principalities and powers, against the spirit

forces that are in high places."

5. Satan uses lust and greed and seeks to lure men into

his ranks. Once in his ranks, he holds you by force, so

that you cannot escape except by divine intervention.

a. The scripture describes the three pronged

attack, as the lust of the eye, the lust of the

flesh and the pride of life.

b. These are very powerful motivators, and the

world has succumbed to the enticements, so that

the world is marked by the lust and greed of

man.

Thus to announce yourself as a citizen of

the world is tantamount to saying that you are

in the kingdom of darkness.

c. God's word says, "Love not the world, neither

the things that are in the world, for he that

hath the love of the world in his heart, has

not the love of the Father." 1Jo 2

6. In contrast, God uses love as the main motivator to woo

men to a voluntary surrender to Him. He alone has the

power to set you free from the kingdom of darkness.

When the disciples asked Jesus, "Who then can be

saved?" Jesus responded, "With man it is impossible,

but with God all things are possible."

B. You this day are living in one of the two kingdoms. You are

there by choice.

1.

If you have surrendered to Jesus Christ to be the Lord

of your life, then you are in the kingdom of heaven. If

you have not surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus, then

you are in the kingdom of darkness.

2. It should be noted that Jesus declared that the reason

that men are in darkness is because they love the

darkness rather than the light because their deeds are

evil.

3. You need to know that one day the kingdom of darkness

will be cast into outer darkness forever. A place so

far beyond the farthest galaxy that no light has ever

or will ever reach there.

4. When this takes place it will leave only one kingdom in

the universe, and that is the kingdom of heaven. The

Bible describes it as a utopia that it calls heaven.

No

death, no pain, no sorrow, no sickness, no sin, the

chief characteristics will be righteousness, peace, and

joy.

II. The field. In the other parable of the kingdom of heaven the field is

identified as the world. This poor fallen mass of humanity fraught

with wars, crime, violence, hatred, wrath, envy, strife. Living

under the power of darkness.

A. In the beginning this earth belonged to God, for He had created

it. The psalmist cried, "The earth is the Lord's and the

fullness thereof."

B. When God created man and placed him on this earth, he gave the

earth to man with the command to take care of it, to dress it

as a garden, to bring it to its full potential.

1. In this the environmentalist are out of their tree when

they try to blame the Christians for the environmental

damage done to the earth because of their biblical

perspective.

2. It is the greed of man that is destroying the

environment. Those who are destroying the jungles of

the Amazon are not Christians, but great industries

interested only in profit for themselves. The

Christians that went into those jungles were only

interested in bringing the natives into a better

life by introducing them to Jesus Christ.

C. In the beginning Adam lived in perfect harmony with God and

enjoyed the earth which was as a garden and produced abundantly

for his every need.

D. One day however, Satan came into this paradise to seduce man to

leave the kingdom of God, by disobedience to God, and to join

the kingdom of darkness which was in opposition to God. He

promised him that he could be like God.

1. When man obeyed the suggestion of Satan to violate the

commandment of God, he passed from light into darkness.

2. That was the beginning of the worldly system that took

control over the earth and has since been in control.

E. Now the field is the world.

III. The identity of the man who discovered the treasure and gave

everything in order to buy the field is discovered by the

question. Who gave everything to purchase the world? We realize

that the answer to the question is Jesus.

A. The scriptures declare that we are redeemed, not with

corruptible things such as silver and gold, from our former

empty lives, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who

was slain as a Lamb without spot or blemish.

1. Jesus declared that His mission was to seek and to save

that which was lost.

2. He then called to all those who were bound in the

darkness of this world, who were tired of the misery,

pain, and suffering that was brought about by man's

sin. He said, "Come unto Me all ye that labor and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

3. Jesus said that He had come to give His life as a

ransom for man. We were being held hostage by Satan,

but Jesus through His death on the cross paid the

ransom.

4. Paul speaking of Jesus to Timothy declared that He gave

Himself as a ransom for all.

B. Jesus then is the man who for the joy of potential treasure

gave His all to purchase the field.

1. We are told in the book of Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus,

who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the

cross, despising the shame.

2. The joy of possessing the treasure.

C. That leaves but one unresolved issue, what is the treasure

that He valued so highly that He was willing to give everything

to obtain it?

IV. The treasure must then be the church which we are told He purchased

with His own blood.

A. Paul told the elders of the church in Ephesus to feed the

church of God which He had purchased with His own blood.

B. The Lord wants you to know just how much He treasures you.

1. It was the prayer of Paul for the church in Ephesus

that the Lord might give to them the Spirit of wisdom

and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that having

their eyes thus opened that might know the hope of

their calling and the riches of the glory of His

inheritance in the saints.

2. Basically that they might understand how great God

loves them and treasures them.

C. Jesus by thus purchasing the earth can now free all who desire

from the kingdom of darkness, and they can come into the

Kingdom of heaven. They can come under the rule of Jesus

Christ. The invitation is to make Him the Lord of your life.

D. Are you happy with the direction the world is going. Do you

delight in all of the exploitation of others to pander to the

lusts of men? Do you thrill with the violence in the streets,

the possibility of being mugged while going to your car in

the parking lot mall?

1. Do you sometimes find yourself seeking to escape from

this rotten world?

2. Jesus Christ has paid the price to ransom you from the

kingdom of darkness. All you have to do is to yield to

His love, and submit to Him as King, and you will enter

the kingdom of heaven.